Tira My What?

Oh, Tiramisu! Your origins are a mystery. It is well accepted that the current version with its coffee soaked ladyfingers and thick marscarpone custard was developed Trevisio by the Goddaughter of a local pastry chef but the actual circumstances of it's creation are shrouded in mystery.

Some say that the dessert was a created in the 16th century as a tribute to Grand Duke Cosimo de' Medici III upon his visit to Sienna. Others attribute it to the famous "Zuppa Inglese" or English Trifle that combines cubes of sponge cake, zabalgione and fresh fruit. It was rumored to be popular with the English scholars living in Florence in the 19th century.

The name of the dessert, tirami su, literally means pick me up - and is thought to be in reference to the sugar and espresso as a boost to pick up ones lagging energy as sweets of this nature are generally consumed by Italilans mid afternoon with a strong espresso and not at the end of a large meal as we do here in America.

But whatever the origins, tiramisu has quickly taken over the hearts (and stomachs) of many of my friends and family. It is a favorite here in the office and has been made for showers, birthdays, going-away and welcoming parties. My own recipe for the confection is one that I have perfected over time. Having found many too cloyingly sweet or having custards too soupy, I developed a recipe that could satisfy the most raging sweet tooth without hiding the flavor of the mascarpone. Also, having a fear of serving raw eggs (at least the ones I buy in my local supermarket...last time I checked Washington Heights was not farm fresh) I find the recipes that make a cooked custard to be much more appealing.

So here it is kids. My secret weapon to make you all love me more than you already do. My pick me up - my tiramisu!

Combine 2 cups boiling water, 3 tablespoons instant espresso powder and 2 tablespoons Frangelico liquer. Set aside to cool.

Over a double boiler with barely simmering water, whisk together 4 egg yolks 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract. Whisk for 7-8 minutes until the mixture has doubled in volume and forms a ribbon when you pour it back into the bowl.

Remove from the heat and gently mix in 16 oz. mascarpone cheese. In a separate bowl, whip one cup of heavy cream until it forms peaks (not too stiff - we're making whipped cream - not butter) and fold it gently into the custard.

Dip saviorardi (lady fingers - not the soft ones as they absorb too much liquid and become mushy) in the coffee mixture very briefly (don't let them soak up too much) and line a casserole dish (or tupperware - or bowl of your choice). Pour about 1/2 of the cream over the cookies and repeat ending with a layer of the cream. Dust the top liberally with good quality cocoa and allow to set in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving.

Serves one Development Department, one Communications Department and one Executive team.

Who are you calling a tart?

Another day, another celebration for another coworker. Ergo another dessert to prepare.

Today was Alice's 25th birthday. Alice, for those of you who don't know, is basically the glue that holds AJWS together. She's the executive assistant to our esteemed President (the fabulous Ruth Messinger) and to say that Alice handles grace under fire is the understatement of the year. So of course, when she requested a lemon tart I felt the need to deliver.

I have a few recipes that I use for lemon curds and custards but just didn't have the stamina barely 24 hours after the grand cannoli cake to stand whisking over a double boiler. I decided to try a simpler recipe with a cream cheese based custard and shortbread crust. After an intense day of work and the first night of my Communication Strategy class, I wandered the aisles of Whole Foods, slightly dazed and unable to fully remember what I needed. Several impulse buys later (did I really need the Value Pack size of Emergen-C????) I was on my way home. By the time I walked through the door my body refused to measure flour or squeeze lemon juice or even open the cabinet where the food processor was. A night of sleep and then I'd get up early and make the tart in the morning.

At 6:30 the alarm went off. At 6:31 I threw the clock across the room. Finally, at 6:47 I dragged myself to the kitchen. Yowls from hungry felines filled the air but I knew I could not afford any delays. So I shoved the furry feeding machines aside and set to work. Measure one cup of flour, 1/3 cup powdered sugar, 1/8 tsp salt and give it a spin in the food processor. Add one stick cold cut up butter and pulse until it starts to form clumps. Press this into your tart pan and freeze for 15 minutes. Prick the bottom and bake at 425 for 14-15 minutes. While crust bakes take a perfectly timed shower (or as I did slightly overbake the crust).

When the crust is out of the oven and cooling and your all dried and dressed from the shower, combine 5 oz. cream cheese with 1/2 cup of white sugar in the food processor and process till combined. Add two eggs, one at a time and process well after each. Add 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice and 1 heaping tbsp grated lemon zest and process again. Pour into the prepared tart shell and bake at 350 for 28 minutes (or until custard is set).

Top with lightly sweetened whipped cream (this is even more fun if you whisk it fresh in the office before serving it to really show your coworkers how much you love them.) Serve cold.

Of course, by the time the tart was done I was running late so I pulled it out of the oven and put it by an open window to start cooling. I gave it about 3 minutes and then wrapped it in a towel so I could hold it (it was hot!) and headed out the door. On the subway I got a few looks as I knew you could smell the warm buttery crust and the sweet scent of lemon in the air. A cute little old man sitting next to me asked what I was carrying and when I said "a lemon tart" he suggested I let him hold it for a while. Thanks - buuuttt...no thanks. :)

Happy 25th Alice!

Things that are difficult....

In increasing order, things that are difficult:

Walking in the snow.

Walking in the snow uphill.

Walking in the snow uphill with a knee injury.

Walking in the snow uphill with a knee injury carrying a cannoli cake roll.

It was difficult but the cake roll (and the ingredients for the whipped cream icing) made it successfully to the office. A light sponge cake rolled and filled with a cannoli cream and covered with orange scented whipped cream, chopped pistachios and mini chocolate chips.

And yes, it is as good as it sounds.

Mom's Birthday Dinner

It wasn't planned. I didn't sit poring over cookbooks for hours coming up with a menu. It just all came together as I was cooking. I was at my parents house in New Jersey and while sitting at the breakfast table at our favorite local diner after church, we were chatting about what to make for dinner. We stopped at the A&P on our way home and picked up pork tenderloins, new potatoes and fennel. What ended up on the table was quite possibly one of my most favorite meals I have ever put together.

It started with the potatoes. They were large so I quartered them before adding them to a pan with a large sliced yellow onion, sliced fennel (and also chopped up some of the fennel fronds for additional flavor), a load of chopped garlic, two apples cut to approximately the same size at the potatoes, and a good amount of chopped fresh parsley. I tossed all of it with salt, pepper and olive oil and set it to roast in a 400 degree oven.

Meanwhile, I cleaned up the pork tenderloins of their remaining silver skin, gave it a rub with a little extra virgin olive oil and a good sprinkle of salt and fresh cracked pepper. I seared it in a screaming hot oven safe pan and let it form a beautiful brown crust on all sides. While the pork browned, I prepared a mixture of crushed garlic, lots of fresh chopped parsley, spicy brown mustard, a touch of real maple syrup and a few slugs of olive oil. When the pork was brown all over I removed it from the pan and gave it a good slathering with the mix and then patted panko over the top for a crust. Into the oven (now up to 425 degrees) until the internal temperature reaches around 150 degrees. Make sure you allow the pork to rest for 5-10 minutes when it comes out of the oven before slicing.

While the pork and the potatoes were in the oven, I cleaned up a bunch of carrots that Mom had in the fridge and cut them into 2" pieces. A tablespoon of butter and olive oil went into a saute pan and then in went the carrots for just a quick saute. Then about 1/2 cup of water and cover (over mediumish heat - how's that for accurate measurements) for about 7 minutes. Remove the lid and let most of the water evaporate. Add 5-6 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and bring to a fast and furious bubble. Toss the carrots in the vinegar mixture and add another pat (or two) of butter to form a glaze.

If you time it right (or get really lucky like I did) everything will be finished at the exact same moment and what you bring to the table will be piping hot and the aroma will have your mouth watering. Mustard crusted pork tenderloin with roasted potatoes, apples and fennel and cider vinegar glazed carrots made for a great meal on a cold Sunday evening!

****Food is something that many of us take for granted. It occured to me both while I was cooking this meal and writing this blog post that while I sit in the comfort of my home, millions are starving in the streets after the earthquake in Haiti. I would encourage you to take a moment and make a donation to an organization like American Jewish World Service, Doctors Without Borders, the International Rescue Committee or Partners in Health to help provide aid where it is so needed. For those of you who prefer the ease of a text message, you can text "AJWS" to 25383 and make a $10 donation to American Jewish World Service's Rapid Relif Fund for Haiti. Remember, there but for the grace of God go we. Thank you.*****

What you crave?

Is it possible to crave something you've never had? Can the brain combine flavors and textures that it knows into something brand new and tell your stomach that this is what it wants? I'd have to say yes. Yesterday I woke up thinking about lamb stew. I have never made nor eaten lamb stew but I've had plenty of lamb and plenty of stews. I couldn't get the thought out of my head. Whether I was having coffee and donuts with friends, wandering the aisles of the new Costco in Harlem or chowing down on a Big Mac while parked in a bus stop in my friends SUV the thought of lamb stayed with me. I flipped through a few cookbooks and searched the standard cooking websites but I couldn't find anything that appealed to me. The Irish lamb stew recipes seemed too bland and the Moroccan style, while delicious seemed more complex than my comfort food seeking brain was looking for.

So I made it up. I knew in my head what I wanted to create. A rich stew with chunks of lamb, loaded with vegetables in a rich broth. For some reason I wanted it to have a Guinness base. On my way home I stopped at my favorite overpriced market in the neighborhood and picked up lamb stew meat, multi-colored fingerling potatoes and a large white onion. Using a tried and true method for beef stew I seasoned the lamb with salt and pepper and gave it a light dredge in flour. I browned the lamb on all sides in vegetable oil. When the lamb was browned I wiped out the pot, added a little olive oil and gave a quick saute of my veggies (carrots, potatoes, onion, celery and a smashed garlic clove). The lamb went back into the pot along with a little tomato puree, beef broth and of course, a half bottle of Guinness stout. I added a few sprigs of fresh thyme, brought the whole thing up to a boil and then lowered the gas and let it simmer for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes had passed I took the cover off and let the liquid boil down into a dense rich broth.

A dip of my tasting spoon told me this flavor combination that was so new to me was in fact what I had been craving. The lamb was tender, the vegetables soft and the broth was rich and complex with the Guinness providing an earthiness to the dish that I was looking for.

My Mom has always been an amazing cook but what amazed me the most was when she would put something together that she had never had before but that she just thought sounded "so good". She be in the kitchen adding a little of this and some of that and next thing we knew we had a new family favorite (that most likely would never be created in its exact likeness again). It was this spirit of adventure that gives me the courage to put lamb to stew and experiment on my own! Thanks, Mom :-)

Mmmm.....Babies!

My theory of food is make it taste good first, make it look good second. I know they say we eat with our eyes first - but no matter how beautiful a plate looks, if it doesn't have the flavor to match then it's just a huge disappointment. This week however, I had the opposite experience. I was asked to do some baking for a baby shower that we were throwing for a coworker. I was originally just going to make my version of tiramisu but then someone noticed a Christmas gift that I had been carrying around with me that day called "Hello Cupcake" and the next thing I knew I was going home that night to make babies!

I should throw the caveat out there that I am NOT a cake decorator. My icing skills are far from perfect and I think I only recently discovered how to twist a piping bag shut so it doesn't leak out the back. So why I agreed to do this was beyond me. Even though the book said it would be simple - I was still nervous. No fondant, no sugar paste - just regular icing (from a can even), some marshmallows and fruit chew candies. Still - I had images in my head of creating something that would come out more like monsters rather than babies.

I started out by baking box-mix cupcakes. These were going to be more about appearance rather than taste - and really - who doesn't like a good Duncan Heinz every now and then? When the cupcakes were baked and cooled (standard for the base and mini for the head) I frosted them as smooth as I could with a vanilla frosting tinted light pink (I did have to ditch one batch that came out too neon - as I said...alien monsters). Using a Ziploc baggie filled with chocolate frosting I piped eyelids onto the minis and belly buttons onto the standards. The book said to pipe eyelashes but that just wasn't happening. I cut up mini marshmallows and stuck them to the heads as bonnets and even tried making safety pins out of white chocolate (there were a few successes here but most of them just broke when I tried to peel them from the waxed paper). Each standard cupcake had a pretty border piped around it - I did some white as the book called but also did a few with chocolate figuring we could tell the mommy-to-be they needed to be changed (Yes, I know...ew).

The hard part came when I had to attach the heads to the bodies. According to the book you just set the mini cupcake on its side on the standard cupcake and poof! You have a baby. Only I kept ending up with headless babies - kind of scary dark for a baby shower! So I did what any good mother would do and stuck a sharp object through the baby head (in this case - a toothpick) to make it stick to the body! Worked like a charm. A few finishing touches of fruit loop mouths, baby bottles and teddy bears (teddy grahams) and voila! A basket full of babies to help welcome our newest coworker into the world!

When I was all done I sent a photo of the little darlings to my mother with the subject line "Look! I made you grandbabies!" Probably not what she was expecting but I think they turned out pretty cute. :) I have to say that for my first foray into decorating this wasn't a bad experience. Five hours later I had 15 little cupcake babies, a kitchen that was covered in pink frosting and I had probably eaten my weight in mini marshmallows and starburst - but it was worth it. The hard part came on the day of the shower when everyone began to eat them....head first as was my fear! My poor little babies...I had gotten quite attached to them - but its OK. I can just go make more :-).

Happy Eating!

I'd rather be in the kitchen....

Cooking is my passion. It takes me out of my normally overcrowded head and puts me in a place of focus. When I cook I don't think about the paper that I should be writing or the backlog of work that I need to catch up on or the potential relationship that may be spiraling rapidly down the tubes. All I think about is the culinary masterpiece that is coming together in front of me. Yesterday was one of those days. There were a number of things I could have been doing including cleaning my apartment, catching up on a few overdue work projects, piles of laundry....but instead I chose to spend the day in the kitchen. All of these other things can wait just one more day can't they?

It started with a pint of kumquats that had been staring at me from the kitchen counter for the past 48 hours. I don't even know if I've ever had a kumquat - but there they were in the produce aisle of my local Key Food. And since I can barely get ripe bananas and lettuce there I was struck by the exotic potential of these little citrus fruits. "Sweet edible skin with sweet-tart pulp" the package stated. Into my basket they went. When I got home I tasted one of the little buggers - sweet skin and VERY tart pulp. Can't say I enjoyed the experience but it wasn't exactly a negative one either. For two days I researched recipes and finally found one for a chutney that would work well with roasted meats. Quarter and seed the kumquats and boil together with orange juice and zest, a tiny bit of sugar, shallots, cinnamon, star anise, pepper corns and cloves. It's almost like a spicy marmalade and I have a feeling would go well with some strong cheese and crusty bread. I canned the chutney as I wasn't sure when I would actually have a chance to use it. Yes - I said I canned. I sterilized my glass jar and then sealed it once it was filled with the glistening chutney. Ain't I just little Suzie Freakin Homemaker.

Well - that wasn't enough to distract me. So I decided to start the New Year off with a big pot of soup. I picked up some dark meat chicken quarters that I skinned and tossed them in a soup pot with onions, carrots, celery, garlic and zucchini. Then covered it with water and added a porcini mushroom bouillon cube and a large handful of fresh parsley. While that simmered away I looked for my next project.

Baked goods! I needed to bake something. Its the start of a New Year which means that I have to give up the indulgence of the last month and the excuse of "it's the holidays" and get back to some healthy eating. So what could I find that was healthy and would still be delicious. I put together a batch of carrot-ginger muffins that are just subtly sweet with the spice of ginger and the freshness of the grated carrots. They're made with whole wheat flour, only 2 tablespoons of butter and low fat sour cream to keep them moist. They come together pretty quickly (especially if you have a food processor to grate the carrots) and will be a perfect breakfast treat. I think I might toast them lightly and spread a little low fat cream cheese in the middle. A change from my standard breakfast of multi-grain english muffins with peanut butter and banana (although that is mighty tasty).

As I pulled the muffins out of the oven, I felt that familiar ache in my lower legs and back that said I had been in the kitchen too long. My left knee which is still sore and slightly swollen after a recent fall was softly starting to beg for mercy. But I wasn't done just yet. One more project and then I'd give my body the rest it had earned. Earlier that day I had taken out some turkey drumsticks out to defrost that I had picked up for cheap at Stew Leonard's at a post-Thanksgiving sale. (Side note - if you've never been to Stew Leonard's I highly recommend it. It is more than just a great store - its an experience with loads of free samples and fun stuff for the kids!) I was originally just going to roast them for dinner but then was struck with inspiration. I dredged them in flour and browned them in my heavy dutch oven. Then I sauteed up a bit of carrot, onion, celery and garlic and added the drumsticks back in. I covered it with red wine, a mixture of beef and chicken stock and about a cup or so of crushed tomatoes. Some dried herbs of sage, oregano and thyme (I would have preferred fresh but didn't have any on hand) and some grated lemon zest and the whole thing went into a low the oven for about 2.5 hours. Voila! Turkey Leg Osso Bucco!

Granted by the time it got in the oven it was nearly 6 and there was no way I was going to be able to wait until 8:30 for dinner. So while the osso bucco braised away I shredded the chicken from the soup off the bones and cooked up some tubetti pasta - the perfect accompaniment. As I stretched out on the couch with my soup and the latest Harry Potter movie On Demand, I felt an extreme sense of satisfaction wash over me. It had been a long day in kitchen, a hard day at times, but it was worth it. I had successfully managed to avoid doing all the stuff I didn't want to do, and didn't think about the stuff I didn't want to think about, and yet felt fully accomplished at the same time.

Yes my friends, procrastination is truly a dish best served hot!

The Feast of the Seven Fishes

From both a food and non-food perspective, today is my absolutely most favorite day of the year! It's Christmas Eve!!!! All year long we wait for this day and anticipate this meal. Even though the variations to the menu are few and far between we still start planning as soon as the first cool wisps of fall come into the air. There is never any meat on the table this night.It is always fish, and we always aim for seven varieties. Growing up I never knew why we did this - it was just one of those traditions that you went along with. Recently I did some research and found out that seven could be attributed to the seven days of the week, the seven pilgrimage churches in Rome or most commonly, the seven sacraments in the Catholic Church. Whatever the reason I'm sure glad for it!

As a family, we had a few traditions that went along with Christmas Eve and its preparations. Our menu always consisted of several courses that would be consumed over hours at the table but always end in time for us to go to midnight mass. The meal would always proceed in the same order and every year my Grandfather, and later my Father would start every meal by saying "This year we're going to take it SLOW!" (and every year we failed).

There would be an antipasto of baked clams and a pepper and olive salad made with jarred vinegar peppers and different kinds of olives. As a kid I would always pick out the black cerignola olives and wear them on my finger tips (OK, so maybe I still do this....). We'd also have a baccala salad made from the dried salt cod that would have been soaking in our basement sink for days beforehand. The baccala would then be boiled, flaked and then mixed with more vinegar peppers, crinkly Greek black olives, celery and enough garlic to keep away the vampires for the entire year. Mom would always make a small jar to give to my Uncle that had the super hot cherry peppers which he loved. Occasionally we'd also have a shrimp oreganata with this course. Last year I made my first seafood salad with shrimp, mussels and calamari tossed with olive oil, lemon juice and even more garlic.

After the antipasto (yes, that was still only the first course), we'd move on to the pasta. It was ALWAYS linguine (never spaghetti except for that one accidental year that we shall not talk about) served with either a crab sauce or a lobster sauce. My personal preference was for the lobster sauce. We'd make it with the tails, the sweetest and meatiest part of the creature sauteed in olive oil and garlic (more garlic) with fresh parsley. Then when the tails were red and just 'almost' cooked they'd be removed from the pot and we'd pour in can after can of crushed San Marzano tomatoes, white wine and more parsley. That would bubble and brew and then the lobster tails and all of their juices would go back in. We'd start with a bowl of linguine and then crack into the tails. If we had crab sauce (prepared in pretty much the same way), the most fun would come when it was time to crack into the crabs. Manners at the Christmas Eve table were never an issue when there were crabs. You'd rip the poor thing apart the best way you could and then suck out as much meat and juice as you could. By the time we were through everyone would be covered up to their elbows in tomato sauce - and this would be the time the doorbell would ring with unexpected guests dropping in to say Buona Natale. Hugs all around and a few more chairs squeezed into the table!

The next course varied over the years. Sometimes, if there was crab sauce served with the pasta we'd make giant lobster tails oreganata style - split down the middle and stuffed with breadcrumbs, (more) garlic, oregano, fresh parsley and olive oil then baked in a hot oven. Other years there was baccala prepared in the oven with with potatoes, olives, capers and (more) garlic in a light tomato broth. Delish! But as time went on and people became more health conscious and their appetites smaller this was one of the courses to be cut.

The next (and final) fish course was the fried fish. Generally it was shrimp and scallops and sometimes filet of sole. Always breaded and fried to golden perfection and served with some spicy cocktail sauce that my brother would inevitably whip up last minute. There was always a broccoli salad served here as well because we felt we needed something green on the table. Of course, no one ever ate it and most of the time the broccoli ended up breaded and fried as an appetizer for Christmas Day dinner but it was nice to look at.

When the fish was done and the table cleared my Aunt Judy would bellow "OH SWEETUMS! TIME TO DO THE DISHES!!!! (I was sweetums if you couldn't tell.) We'd load up the dishwasher and then do the rest by hand all the while with her yelling at me to get moving and me responding with "Yes Auntie Judy Darling!" in my sweetest voice while I (not-so) quietly grumbled under my breath.

Once everything was clear, we'd sit back down to the table for the fruit, nut and fennel course. There would be apples and oranges and pears and great big red globe grapes with seeds. Roasted hard shell nuts including almonds, walnuts and brazil nuts. We'd always have roasted castagne (chestnuts) that I didn't realize I liked until recently. And, as every good Italian feast should, we'd always have raw fennel - or - as we called it "fenuke". When raw, fennel is fresh and crunchy with strong licorice flavors. Its good for the digestion and helps get you ready for the next and final course - DESSERT!

Dessert is where I normally get to shine. Now this year I'm laid up with a fractured knee and haven't been able to do my usual bout of Christmas baking. But normally dessert on Christmas Eve has a cookie tray with a combination of whatever Mom and I created that year. There are always my Aunt Ida's lemon cookies, the seven layer green white and red Venetian almond cookies, and the little chocolate crackups that are crispy on the outside but soft and chewy within. Sometimes there may be pignoli macaroons or little greek butter cookies rolled in lots of powdered sugar and rum balls to really make your season bright. There would be a plate piled high with struffoli - little fried balls of dough covered in honey and decorated with chopped nuts and little sugar candies. The star of our dessert table was always the Italian-Style cheesecake. Another recipe from the famous Aunt Ida it is ricotta whipped with sugar and eggs, orange and lemon peel and a little Grand Marnier. No matter how full you were - there was always room for just a little piece of cheesecake.

When the meal was done, we'd once again clear the table (with Auntie Judy bellowing sweetly as I attempted to hide in whatever nook of the house she hadn't yet looked for me in). We'd retire to the living room and have the eternal debate over whether to go to midnight mass or get up and go to mass at dawn. Inevitably midnight usually won out.

The guest list for this night varied slightly from year to year. For the most part, it would be my family and my grandparents, our Trinidadian neighbors the Joe-Yens and my Mom's friend Terri, her mother Millie and her other friend Judy (the one who dubbed me Sweetums). Occasionally we'd have the odd guest if Judy happened to find someone who didn't have a place to go. Over the years, these ranged from an Orthodox Jewish couple (can you say traif?) to a slightly degenerate looking man who told my brother he looked like Tom Cruise to a southern gentleman (now her husband) who had never before anything remotely resembling baccala. Some years you'd find a few police cars parked out front and the couch in the living room looked like an arsenal with guns, belts, cuffs and radios as my brother's partner and other cop friends that were on duty that night would come by looking for a hot meal.

There's an old song recorded by Lou Monte, an Italian American singer popular in the 1950's and 60's that says "It's Christmas at our house, the door is open wide. It's Christmas at our house; don't knock just come inside!" And that's what it was. What a glorious night of family and friends to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Heck - if I had one choice for a birthday dinner I couldn't think of a better way to be welcomed into the world!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good bite!

You put WHAT in your stuffing???

Thanksgiving! It's always been one of my favorite holidays and this year is no exception. The biggest change this year is that for the first time in my 32 years of life we did not have Thanksgiving dinner at my parent's house. Instead, we gathered at the new home of my brother and sister in law. And boy, do I mean gathered. 16 Carraturo's and Nigro's gathered around an extended dining room table for one of the largest feasts I have ever seen. Everyone was responsible for something different. My sister in law's family would handle the turkey, a ham and some of the sides, my Aunt Terri would bring wine and the best Italian bread found this side of the Atlantic from Cuccio's Bakery on Avenue X in Brooklyn and I was on dessert (which incidentally was a white chocolate pumpkin cheesecake with a gingersnap crust, a maple bourbon sweet potato pie and a chocolate cream pie in case you were wondering). My mother was going to make her stuffed mushrooms but more importantly she was to make her famous stuffing.

Now, what's so special about stuffing you ask? Well - this is no ordinary stuffing. When I was a kid I'd see commericals for stove top and cringe. Bread in stuffing? Blech! My neighbors across the street made a stuffing with rice and chestnuts and sausage which puzzled me through the years. This was something Americans ate with their turkey. But we, we were Italian. Bread had its time and place at every table but NOT in stuffing. I remember every Thanksgiving morning my grandfather would come over sometime around 5am. He'd prepare the stuffing that morning and then stuff the bird, sew it up and get it in the oven before heading home to relax a bit and clean up before he and my grandmother came back for dinner that afternoon (served traditional Italian American style at 2pm and lasting until somewhere around 9pm).

So now you're probably asking what goes into this famous stuffing since there's no bread and no rice. It is the perfect blend of eggs, mozzarella, sausage meat and a few raisins. You start by browning bulk Italian sausage in a hot pan, if it doesn't already have fennel you should add some fennel seed to the meat for flavor. When its brown you add beaten eggs and let them begin to solidify. Then add cubed mozzarella and the raisins and stir till it just starts to set. We put some of the stuffing in the bird and let it roast until its all fully cooked and the rest goes into a baking dish and gets baked along side. I know I know - it sounds unnaturally simple but it really is the perfect combination of savory flavors.

This stuffing has been known to resolve family conflicts, or, start them if the distribution of leftovers is not done evenly. My brother and I have been known to resort to low tricks such as hiding the remaining stuffing in the back of the fridge under the brussel sprouts where we think the other won't look. I had an ex-boyfriend once who years after we broke up still came around for leftover thanksgiving stuffing (in exchange he gave us jars of his homemade Irish cream). We've argued the proper egg to sausage ratio, whether it should be 6 raisins, 8 or 9....whether an even or an odd number is better luck. But we've never thought about changing the stuffing.

I was 30 years old before I tried and accepted the fact that stove top and other bread stuffings had merit. Wild rice with sausage and roasted chestnuts is absolutely delicious and makes for a wonderful side dish. But don't you dare come anywhere near my bird with anything but the stuffing of my youth. Anything else is just bread!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Smother Me With Love

I work in fundraising so the fall season is always my busiest. Year end mailings, solicitations, lists, events, reports, analysis...it all seems to be needed at once. Add to that 3 graduate courses in nonprofit administration and what you end up with is one very stressed me. After what felt like an incredibly long work day, I just couldn't handle the thought of going to class last night. My head was full of numbers and data and deadlines and the thought of sitting in a hot overcrowded classroom on the 13th floor of what is possibly the saddest building in the entire CUNY system listening to my professor drone about the wonders of strategic management did not inspire me. Nor was I in the mood to battle with the overzealous security guards who control the elevators in said sad building. "13th FLOOR EXPRESS ONLY! MOVE TO THE SIDE! TAKE YOUR BAGS OFF!" as they pack us into the little metal box like sardines into a can minus the delicious bath of olive oil.

So using an art I perfected in High School, I cut class for the evening. I was immediately filled with a heady excitement. What will I do with my night off? Should I go out and paint the town red? Pick up bad take out and curl up on the couch with a chick flick? Be productive and clean my apartment and do laundry? No. None of these would do! As I rode the subway uptown to the northern end of the world otherwise known as Washington Heights flipping through one of my favorite foodie magazines I was struck with inspiration! Smothered Pork Chops! What better way is there to spend an evening than smothering something!

I got off the train and headed to my favorite overpriced but best quality Washington Heights market on West 187th Street and picked up two bone in pork chops, cremini mushrooms, a large Spanish onion and rosemary. I also picked up the ingredients to make a cauliflower puree to go along with my chops.

I set to work immediately upon getting home. Well almost immediately, first I had to take care of the screaming kitty that was pacing around my ankles whose cries could only be translated to "Feed me! FEED ME! I'm STAARRRVVVINNNGGG". Once that was taken care of and the sounds of "nomnomnompurrrpurrrpurrnomnom" filled the kitchen, then I set to work. I sprinkled the chops with salt and pepper (both sides of course) and then gave them a light dusting of flour (and as usual gave myself, the kitchen and the cat a light dusting as well). A little olive oil in my cast iron skillet and I set the chops to browning. While they seared I sliced the onions, mushrooms and chopped up the rosemary. Once the chops were browned on both sides I removed them to a plate, added a little more olive oil and added the onions to the pan to start them cooking. After about 2 minutes I added the mushrooms and rosemary plus a little more salt and pepper and let it cook for about another 5 minutes. After the onions and mushrooms were brown and yummy looking I added the pork chops back into the pan along with any juice that had collected, added about a cup of water and let it simmer, covered for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, as the chops simmered away I prepped the cauliflower. I broke the head down into florets and then added them to a pan with chicken stock and rosemary. I let it boil until the cauliflower was tender. Into a blender with about 1/2 - 3/4 cup of the cooking liquid and then pureed till smooth. Once its smooth I added about 1 tablespoon of butter and about 1/2 cup of grated pecorino romano.

By that time the chops were deliciously tender. Serve by spooning some of the puree on the plate, add the pork chop and top with some of the mushrooms and onions.

Back in my High School days cutting class meant sitting in the courtyard, smoking cigarettes and wondering if my guidance counselor was going to tell my mother I cut when she made her weekly call to make sure I was going to class. Last night I called my mother myself to let her know I skipped and told her exactly what I was doing and was still somewhat surprised when she said she understood completely. My my...how things have changed!